Windpower Monthly's round-up of 2011

23 December 2011
by James Quilter

As Windpower Monthly winds down for the end-of-year holidays, we leave you with a round-up of some of 2011's best read — if not most important — wind-energy stories from both the magazine and the website over the last year.

Donald Trump, burning/ floating turbines, and Vestas were all in the news in 2011January

An awkward start for Iberdrola as San Francisco utility PG&E pulls a proposal to buy a 246MW wind project. The utility and Iberdrola end the $900 million agreement to buy the Manzana project, in southern California, just weeks after an administrative law judge recommended state regulators reject the proposal.

Although health and safety in the wind sector has been improved in recent years, 2011 sees a number of fatalities, the first of which was in China. Three workers die in a Sinovel turbine — sadly not the last such accident for the company in 2011.

Lastly, proving that technology is always a popular topic, one of the best-read stories was about French designer Technip’s plan to trial a floating vertical axis turbine.

February

In terms of wind tech, 2011 dominated with the launch of next-generation offshore wind turbines. As part of this, Alstom and LM Windpower announce their collaboration to build what will become the largest blade in the world, to be used on Alstom’s 6MW Haliade turbine.

Both Repower and Enercon fight legal battles in India, but with different results. As a precursor to a number of IP-related stories this year, an Indian judge rules against Enercon in favour of former partner EIL over the patent ownership. While Suzlon-owned Repower manages to extricate itself from a deal with former licensee Essar Group.

March

Suzlon receives some unwanted publicity when Iberdrola stops production at its 150MW wind farm at Rugby, North Dakota, after the blades fall off one of the project's S88 2.1MW turbines.

Japanese near-shore wind turbines withstand a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami and help compensate for power disappearing from the grid when nuclear reactors shut down.

China also sets the scene for what was to become arguably the biggest story of the year when Sinovel refuses a shipment of components from US supplier AMSC. The resulting reverberations, which led to claims of industrial espionage and IP theft, are yet to play out.

Another trend was the emergence of China’s manufacturers and developers on the global market. Top-5 developer Longyuan makes its first foray into North America with the acquisition of a share of the 100MW Melancthon wind project in Ontario.

Although media personality Donald Trump enjoys celebrity status across the world, he was not a likely candidate for Windpower Monthly editorial. However, the coiffeured entrepreneur made his feelings towards the sector clear with an attack on proposals to build a 100MW offshore project near his Scottish golf course, which he branded as "environmentally irresponsible".

Scottish nationalist plans to build the business case for independence around a ‘clean-energy revolution’ receive a reality check from Citigroup. The bank says Scottish wind-farm owners risk finding their assets stranded and starved of subsidy if the country's government succeeds in its plans for national independence.

December

Turbine failures are always popular with our readers — if not with the manufacturers. Vestas and Scotland make the news again as high winds across the country result in a project being shut down after a turbine catches fire. Meanwhile, in Norway, a 1:6 model of Sway’s floating turbine platform is sunk by high waves.

But to end the year on an optimistic note, final mention must go to Dong Energy winning the Robert the Bruce award for patience. Two years after losing out on the UK’s Round 3 tender, it acquires a share in two projects in the 4GW Hornsea zone.

Looking ahead to 2012, we hope your own endeavors are as productive and successful as they can be, and wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.